Because of the distraction to a golfer which can be caused by wearing a wristwatch due to either the reflection from the watch face or its movement on the wrist when playing a shot, most serious players never wear a watch. Even those that do wear one often find it difficult to use when clothed for cold or rainy weather.
One solution to overcome this difficulty is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,611 (Kim, Aug. 30, 1988), whereby a watch is attached to a golf glove around the Velcro flap which is used to fasten the glove.
Such a solution as in Kim however, is far from ideal since about 30 percent of golfers do not wear a glove and, for those that do, the reflection which can be caused in the face of the watch can be particularly annoying when taking a stance to hit the ball or even more so when trying to putt the ball, when a great deal of players do not remove their glove. Moreover, the addition of the watch element to the glove, even when it is integral, produces a stiffening of the glove fastening flap which does not allow the fastening flap to adapt fully to the shape of the back of the hand, as would a normal golf glove, which causes a disturbance as the player is very much aware of the presence of the watch unit.
Another problem that has arisen in recent years is that golf courses are becoming ever more crowded as the popularity of the game increases. Hence to be able to get the maximum number of players on a golf course during one day, the avoidance of slow play is very important. A player who loses his ball after hitting it is allowed a maximum of five minutes to search for it, to give him a fair chance of locating it but without slowing down play unduly. To avoid slow play this rule must be strictly adhered to, although the disadvantages of wearing a wrist watch, or a golf glove with an attached or integral watch face, are evident from the above explanation. Additionally, to carry a watch in a golf bag is inconvenient since it may be difficult to easily locate or may not be readily at hand if one is not next to one's golf bag when assisting to search for a player's ball. Carrying it in a trouser or shirt pocket is also not ideal, especially as players already have a pitch-mark repairer, tees, pencil and maybe other implements in their pockets. Even those players who do have a watch are generally not in a position to easily and accurately identify when the five minute period started or when it should end.
Particularly in competitions, players determined not to admit that their ball is lost or unable to judge a five minute period often claim that they have only been searching for a shorter time and, as a result, often manage to extend the period by a substantial amount. Additionally, some players are worried about slowing play down unduly and do not allow themselves sufficient time to search. This may also happen when they rely on another member of their flight to judge the time period. Whilst the speed of play may hereby be increased, the effect on the player's score will not be fair and consequently the handicap may be incorrect. Moreover, bad judgement (either on the upper or lower side of the specific time period) often creates ill will and may be the subject and source of rumours and comments. If objectivity could be provided then fairer scores, faster play, correct handicaps and an end to this source of rumour could be provided. However, this must not be at the expense of comfort or convenience.
As part of playing the game of golf, players pitch their ball onto the green surrounding the hole. In landing on the green, the ball often causes damage known as a "pitch-mark". Since players must putt their ball into the hole on the green, it is required that such marks are repaired by the player involved. This is normally done using a well known tool called a pitch-mark repair tool, sometimes referred to as a green repair tool, a pitch-repairer or even a green-repairer. The implement will be referred to as a pitch-repairer hereafter. Many golf courses and national golf associations now require that each player has a pitch-repairer before starting play and many clubs keep a look out that players are repairing their pitch-marks appropriately. Pitch-repairers are well known and generally consist of two prongs and a holding portion and can either be of metal or plastics materials or a combination of these, the only requirement being that they are rigid enough to be able to withstand the bending and shear forces applied when repairing a pitch-mark.